Sweet-potato-curing apparatus



Apr. 10, l. 923. I LS'Q H. T. LYTTLETON SWE'ET POTATO CURING APPARATUS Filed Apr'. 15, 1920 Patented Apr., 10, 1923..

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SWEET-POTATO-CURING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 15, 1920. Serial No. 374,121.

To all 'witam it may Gomera:

Be it known that I, HENRY THOMAS LYT- 'rLEroN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marshall, in the county of Harrison and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Sweet-Potato-Curing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for curing sweet potatoes and is designed primarily for curing small quantities of sweet potatoes, one object of the invention being to provide an apparatus which can beset up at low cost and is thus available for use by farmers generally who need not, therefore, be dependent upon large curing houses for taking care of their crops.

A further object is to provide curing apparatus which can be installed readily in unused rooms or in small buildings which may be available for the purpose.

Another object is to provide curing apparatus of this character which will operate efficiently and which can be maintained at low cost.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which lwill appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing, the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a view more or less in diagram showing a section through the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a part elevation of a modified form of heater partly broken away.

` Figure 3 is a view thereof partly in side elevation and partly in section.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference 1 designates an enclosure which can be in the form of a room forming part of a building or can be a small building constructed especially for the purpose. In this building are erected rows of superposed bins 2 of any desired proportions and which are separated from the walls of the enclos'ure by spaces 3 and are also provided with spaces 4 between the rows of bins of sufficient size to permit a person to pass there along. At a suitable point in the enclosure, preferably in one corner, is arranged a heating stove 5 having a smoke outlet pipe 6 which opens into a chimney 7. This smoke pipe or flue 6 may be provided with a damper 8. Opening into the smoke pipe or fiue 6 is an Outlet fiue 9 having a damper 9' and this flue extends downwardly to a point close to the floor of the enclosure and has an inlet 10 located at a point remote from the stove. In other words when the stove is located near one wall of the enclosure it is preferred to have the inlet 10 located near the opposite wall and within the enclosure.

The stove 5 may be located within a casing 11 provided with a fresh air inlet 12 in which may be mounted a damper 13. This casing is provided at the top with an outlet 14: also preferably controlled by a damper 15. There is also provided a door 16 opening into the enclosure. The front of the stove preferably extends through the front wall of the casing 11.

In using this apparatus the potatoes to be cured are piled within the superposed bins, it being obvious that by arranging the bins in this manner the potatoes in the lower bins are relieved of the weight of the potatoes in the upper bins. Thus the interstices between the potatoes are not filled up by pressure or by accumulated dirt but, instead, air is free to circulate between the potatoes. A fire is started in the stove 5 the dampers 9' and 18 are closed, door 16 is opened and the hot products of combustion pass outwardly through the chimney 7 by way of the smoke pipe 6. Air is drawn through door 16 from the interior of the room and some of it supports combustion while the remainder circulates through the casing and through opening 14 so that the temperature is quickly raised. The damper 9' is then opened so that the outfiow of the products of combustion creates a suction through the pipe 9 and the heat radiated from the stove will circulate through the bins containing the potatoes, thus drying them. The moisture laden air will drop to the bottom of the enclosure and be drawn into the pipe 9 at the inlet 10 thereof and will then pass out through the chimney with the combustion products. By having the inlet 10 and the stove 5 at diametrically opposite points, the proper circulation of the heated air is secured. By utilizing a casing or jacket 11 around the stove the escape of heated air into the enclosure can bereadily controlled. The flue 12 can be opened when air from the outside of the room is desired.

It has been found in practice that by providintg` a. curing a'ppa'ratus such as described, it becomes possible for individual farmers to cure their own crops and t-hus effect a considerable saving as compared with those conditions under whichit is necessary for themto transport the crops to large curing plants.

Instead of providing a stove with a casingt such as heretofoi'e dcscribed and has been illustrated in Figure l, a special. store having an integral casing can be used as shown in Figures 2 and 3. This special formof stove includes the firebox 17' having a casing or jacket 18 extending under the bo'ttom, over the top and along the sidesof the firebox, the ends of the firebox being flush With the ends of the casing. Thus an airv chamberA is provided and extends completely around the firebox, this air Chamber having a small door ,19` opening into the room in which the stove is located and also having a fresh air supply flue 20, a hot air Outlet pipe 21. A smoke pipe 22 extends from the firebox and has a' =branch pipe 23 opening' thereinto and which corresponds with the pipe 9 hereinbefore referred to. This form of heater can be sold as a complete unit and installed wherever desired'.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a structure having' airtight Walls, of means therein for curing sweet potatoes or the like to retard bacterial action, said means including a heater for raising` the temperature within the structure above the temperature of the external atmosphere, means for directing air from the external atmosphere into the structure to be heated by said heater and to rise within the structure, said heated air constituting means for absorbing` moisture from the contents of the structure and conveying it toward the bottom of the structure during the Cooling of the air, and means Controlled by the heater for directing' the moisture laden air out of the structure.

2*. pparatus for use in the extraction of mois'ture from sweet potatoes and the like, including a heat-ing stove adapted to be positioned within a structure having airtight walls, a smoke pipe extending' from the stove, a flue extending to the smoke pipe for conducting moisture laden air to said pipe from the bot-'tom portion of the structure, means for supplying atmospheric air to the heating stove in controllable quantities to be healted thereby, and means for releasing` said heated air from the s'tove'` in controllable quantities prior to absorption of moisture by saidV heated air.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two'witnesses.

HENRY THOMAS LYTTLETON.

l/Vitne'sses :t

VILLIAM F. YOUNG, J on S. BROWN. 

